ESSN data on California Public Radio

Educators School Safety Network says it recorded about 50 threats a day on average since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people died.

The Ohio-based national organization that tracks school threats says that compares to about 10 threats a day on average.

Violent incidents or threats have occurred in 48 of the 50 states so far this school year, according to the network, with 10 states accounting for 48 percent of all the threats and incidents that have occurred so far.

The organization says California leads the list of schools that have had an increase in threats. Pennsylvania, New York, Florida and Illinois round out the top five.

ESSN research in the York Daily Record

But the “huge” uptick in school-based violent incidents and threats across the country since the Florida shooting has been somewhat unusual, according to the Educator’s School Safety Network, which tracks those incidents.

Since Feb. 15, the organization has been tracking anywhere from 70 to 80 threats a day nationwide – up from 10 to 12 per day in January.

“That’s a significant increase and much more than you would anticipate after an event,” spokeswoman Amy Klinger said.

Dr. Amy Klinger - Eye on Ohio

"I'm saying there's a lot of things we can do ... that are proven to work, before we talk about putting more guns into a school," she said.

Klinger said she thought Ohio could improve by implementing regular, rigorous teacher training on spotting potential hazards.

Amanda Klinger on Voice of America Radio

“This is something educators are asking for. Educators aren't asking to be armed with guns. But they are asking to be armed with education and training and the empowerment to be able to do some of these things to keep kids safe in their schools.”

Amanda Klinger quoted in New York Times article about EDGE school safety simulation tool

It was important to adapt that software for teachers so it would be instructive rather than intimidating, said Amanda Klinger, the director of operations for the Educator’s School Safety Network, a nonprofit consulting group that has a contract to create lesson plans for it.

“Scaring the daylights out of people with blood and gore and trauma doesn’t empower people,” Ms. Klinger said.

You can read the full piece here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/us/school-shooting-simulation.html

Amanda Klinger, Esq. quoted in articles about Department of Homeland Security EDGE training tool

The Educator's School Safety Network consulted with the development of the EDGE simulation tool, and has been tasked to create supplemental, education-focused materials for effective use of the tool.

Director of Operations, Amanda Klinger Esq. is quoted in several AP articles:

“I hope that people will sort of see this simulation as a really cool and engaging way to think about school safety.” 

The simulation tool was also profiled in SlashGear, Gizmodo, and other news outlets.

NBC News Features ESSN Co-Founder

ESSN Director of Programs, Dr. Amy Klinger, was one of the featured experts in an NBC News article examining the changes in school safety on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy. 

Click here to see the full article.

Dr. Amy Klinger One of the Featured Experts in Future Trends Article

Dr. Amy Klinger of ESSN was one of the experts featured in an article by District Administration on current and future trends in education. It's wonderful to note that school safety was given the same level of educational attention as other relevant concerns such as academic performance and teacher evaluation!

To read the full article go to www.districtadministration.com/article/learning-leans-forward

ESSN Featured in investigative article on workplace shooting

ESSN's Director of Programs, Dr. Amy Klinger, as interviewed as a featured expert in a SouthCoastToday investigative article on a workplace shooting at a local college in Massachusetts.

Click here to see the full article.

Dr. Amy Klinger Featured Expert in New Jersey Bomb Threat Article

Dr. Amy Klinger was one of the featured experts in a recent article on bomb threats in New Jersey schools. Along with Dr. Klinger's discussion of how to appropriately respond to bomb threats, ESSN's data on bomb incidents and threats for the 2015-2016 school was also used. 

http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2017/11/19/bomb-scares-rise-new-jerseys-schools/704469001/

Dr. Amy Klinger quoted on NorthJersey.com

"New Jersey was ranked number six of the 50 states in bomb incidents and threats, representing 4.5 percent of all threats in the U.S.," said Klinger. The state makes up less than 2.8 percent of the U.S. population. Fortunately, there were no detonations, just threats and suspicious items.

"You need school-based training for staff to learn how to react and to prevent these incidents," she said. "It's dangerous to assume nothing will come of these threats." 

Read the full article here: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2017/11/19/bomb-scares-rise-new-jerseys-schools/704469001/

ESSN Bomb Study Data featured in Chicago Tribune Report

ESSN's research on bomb threats and incidents in schools was recently featured in an article in the Chicago Tribune about the dramatic increase in bomb threats in Illinois so far this school year. Be sure to check out our newest bomb threat and incident research for the 2016-2017 school year.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-education-lockdown-bomb-threats-st-1031-20171030-story.html

ESSN Bomb Incident Report Featured in Study of Illinois Threats

Data from ESSN's Bomb Incident Report for the 2016-2017 school year was the central feature of a recent story in the State Journal-Register discussing the increase in bomb threats and incidents in Illinois. In addition to the data gathered from the report, Dr. Amy Klinger was interviewed about the implications of this rapid increase on schools throughout the U.S.

To read the article go to: http://www.sj-r.com/news/20171005/study-bomb-threats-becoming-more-frequent-at-schools

Dr. Amy Klinger Featured Expert on the Illinois News Network

Dr. Amy Klinger was the featured expert in an Illinois Radio Network story on the dramatic increase in bomb threats in Illinois so far this school year. According to ESSN's current data, Illinois is #3 in the nation in threats of violence in just 20 school days in September 2017.  In the interview Dr. Klinger discussed the problems associated with the lack of training and updated response protocols, and how this lack of preparedness impacts safety in schools. 

To read more, go to: http://altondailynews.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=17&id=253178#.Wd0Z-siGO70

ESSN Study on School Threats and Violence Featured

Amanda Klinger, Director of Operations for the Educator's School Safety Network, was the featured expert in a recent Crimetracker 10 news story on 10TV in Columbus. The story focused on the newly released "States of Concern" report that ranks Ohio as the state of most concern in the U.S.

http://www.10tv.com/article/new-study-reveals-disturbing-trend-school-violence-ohio

ESSN Directors are featured keynote speakers

ESSN Directors Dr. Amy Klinger and Amanda Klinger, Esq. were the featured keynote speakers at the Buckeye School Administrator's Association facilities and safety conference on Thursday, March 16, 2017. The Klingers spoke on critical issues in school safety using an "uncomfortable self-assessment" perspective. The follow up breakout session allowed participants to explore the critical topics of violence prevention, lockdown enhancements, bomb incidents, and parent reunification more in-depth.

Dr. Amy Klinger weighs in on school bomb threats

ESSN Director Dr. Amy Klinger was the featured expert in a recent article exploring the rapid increase in school based bomb threats. See the full article here. 

School-based bomb incident report featured on District Administration.com

Those who threaten schools are often looking for “disruption” and “entertainment,” says Amy Klinger, director of programs for the Educators’ School Safety Network. “If we automatically react every time, we unwittingly encourage more bomb threats.”

Furthermore, some schools’ evacuation protocols are dangerous, says Klinger, also a former educator and school administrator. Evacuating children to a parking lot or football stadium, without first ensuring the parking lot or stadium is threat-free, may be moving students into another danger zone.

Read the full article here

School Bomb Incident report featured in security publication

ESSN's study on bomb incidents in schools was featured in the November issue of Security Sales and Integration magazine. Click here to see the full article. 

ESSN Study featured in national magazine

ESSN's study of school bomb incidents was featured in the November issue of Campus Safety magazine. The article included a slideshow of the charts and data from the report. Click here to see the full article.